Hotboxed Ed
by IceyL
Summary: Eddy did not expect high school to be like this. Instead of causing mayhem with his best friends, Ed and Edd have been assigned to different classes. Bored out of his mind, Eddy runs to the bathroom and witnesses a dirty secret that ultimately sets multiple anxiety-provoking events into motion. Rated M for drug use/references, cursing and sexuality. Slash (Edd/Eddy)
1. Discovery

Disclaimer: Of course I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy, all rights belong to AKA Cartoon and Danny Antonucci. I am a new author and I always appreciate critiques. If you catch an error don't be afraid to notify me. As mentioned in the summary drug use is involved, weed to be exact. Even though the Eds young in this fic I do not condone smoking under the age of 18. There is slash invovled and if you don't like it...you should read it and try it anyway, maybe you'd like it!

So with all that serious stuff out of the way (and not giving too much away of the story) I hope you enjoy! :

Hotboxed Ed

Eddy's eyelids lazily drooped as he struggled to pay attention in class. Chin resting on his fist and tapping the desk impatiently, he heaved a heavy sigh. He was stuck in 10th grade Algebra and the teacher was going on about boring things like finding 'x' and solving for 'y'.

"Who cares?" He mumbled and flashed a glance at the clock…twenty minutes left. Eddy groaned and slammed his head on the desk, "If only I had actually studied I would have been in Double D's class" he mumbled into the wooden surface. His arms shifted to cradle his head, blocking out the light and sounds of the lecture.

More dedicated and motivated in his academics, Edd had been accepted into mostly AP classes. While Eddy stayed in on the baseline with everyone else, Double D and Ed were on opposite sides of the building. Ed was taken up to speed in learning support and Edd was busy 'being a genius' in the honor's wing. The only times Eddy ever saw Double D during the school day was in homeroom and Spanish; Ed, in homeroom, art, music and gym. Luckily for Eddy, Spanish was next, and he couldn't wait much longer. Eddy wasn't excited for the subject matter, he could care less about Spanish, but more about the chance to distract and bother Double D. Edd may take his academics very seriously but Eddy knew how to push his buttons. Double D often was blamed for what Eddy did in class; flinging pencils and notes across the room, snickering in the back of the class or that one time that Eddy forgot his homework and Edd took the rap. Eddy smiled and his head nuzzled against his sleeve. He got a kick out of bugging his friend and breaking through his shell as much as possible, especially when Edd tried so hard to be serious.

Suddenly he heard his name and Eddy's gaze shot up.

"Huh? What? Me? Go up to the board?" Eddy laughed nervously, he had no idea what was going on "I would buuut…" He searched his mind for an excuse "I need to go to the bathroom! Excuse me!" Eddy ran up front, grabbed the hall pass and bolted out the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he got out of sight of the classroom and looked up at the clock,

"Five minutes? Only five minutes have passed? SERIOUSLY?" Eddy banged his head against the wall and soon began trudging towards the bathroom.

A group of caution signs greeted him when he reached the boy's room, one reading 'Closed: Cleaning in Process'. Eddy was about to give up and head back to the class, where he would just deal with whatever was coming to him. As he turned his heel and stepped forward towards his undesired fate he heard a muffled giggle.

"Huh?" Eddy placed his hand against his ear and leaned closer to the entrance.

"You're so smart Kev, how did we not do this before?" Eddy's eyes widened, was that Nazz's voice? What was she doing with Kevin in the _boy's_ bathroom? He recalled how the two dated a few times at the beginning of the year; maybe they were taking their relationship to the next level. A sly grin grew on Eddy's face.

"I know babe, the teachers are _so_ stupid, they would never suspect it," Eddy's nose picked up a strange scent as he began breathing heavily, but he ignored it. He knew what they were doing in there and he was going to sneak a peek.

The short boy very carefully stepped over the sign, making sure his feet landed softly on the tile floor. As his head peeked around the corner he saw the two's feet under the handicap stall. Eddy scrambled to hide behind a trashcan and sucked in some air, breathless from the entire excursion. He coughed a bit realizing that it was foggy in the room. '_No doubt from their passionate loooove making' _he chuckled to himself. He always read those magazines his brother left behind but Eddy had never seen anyone having sex _in person_. In fact he was (regrettably) a virgin and never even saw a girl naked before. '_That's all about to CHANGE Eddyboy_' he snickered in anticipation, perhaps a little too loudly.

"Shit, what was that?" Kevin's voice rang out and a click of something landing on the ground rang off the tiled walls.

Eddy shot a glance to the floor as something bright red slid next to him. A lighter? Eddy hastily picked it up and examined it "What do you use THIS for!?" Eddy's voice reached his normal speaking volume, a few decibels above yelling.

"Eddy, is that you dude?" Nazz spoke with a haggard voice and coughed violently. Eddy cringed, the jig was up, he glued his eyes to the black and white design on the floor as he stood up and heard the stall door squeak open.

"I-I I just wanted to use the bathroom is all! What the hell are you—" Eddy slowly lifted his gaze to the two, they were fully clothed. "Oh, you're not…"

"What? We're not _what_ dorko?" Kevin snarled and approached him, snatching the lighter from his hand. Kevin, while becoming slightly more accepting of Eddy after the whole fiasco with his brother, still never could give up his trademark insult. Rather than becoming friends, Eddy and Kevin simply tolerated each other. "Hey, look…don't tell anyone okay?" Kevin's voice softened and his eyes pleaded.

Eddy's face contorted into confusion then thinking twice he began to smile evilly "Don't tell anyone, eh? I don't know, as you say I do have a pretty big mouth" Eddy shined his nails on his shirt and outstretched his arm. He was certain he'd get some cash out of this blackmail attempt.

"That's cold dude" Nazz looked disappointed. Eddy and her had been in more than a few classes together and would often chat during monotonous lectures. Eddy had long since been desensitized to Nazz's "feminine wiles" and treated her more like an acquaintance than a love interest. He chalked up his past attraction to raging hormones and naïve cluelessness. Regardless, he certainly wouldn't have minded running into her naked in the boy's bathroom. Nazz had changed dramatically in three years, she grew several inches, filled in her figure and often showed it off in tie-dye or earth toned dresses.

Eddy felt a bit guilty, but it wasn't enough to stop him, after highschool everything began slowing down. He wasn't scamming people anymore, Double D and Ed were making other friends besides him, and life felt dull. For once things were being set in motion for Eddy, he simply grinned wider and waited in silence.

"Ugh…okay, whatever. Kev, just give him something, my parents can't know about this, they'd like, disown me," Nazz begged. Eddy whistled, what kind of nasty things were they doing? Still convinced their dirty secret was sexually deviant.

"Fine, whatever," Kevin reached into his pocket, after a little rustling he pulled out a plastic sandwich bag and eyed it up. Kevin's expression turned from annoyance to sorrow as he looked back and forth from Eddy to his girlfriend. Nazz squinted her eyes and gave a hard nod.

"Just do it dude, you know what would happen if we got caught,"

"Yeah just do it dude~" Eddy spoke in a girly pitch, batted his eyelashes and opened his palms to accept whatever it was he was getting. He wasn't sure what was in the bag but it had to be money—'_and lots of it, it has to be, it's green after all!_' Eddy's mind went wild.

When he lowered his eyes and felt the bag placed in his hands his smile dropped. "What the...what the flying fuck is THIS? No offense Nazz, but I don't want your boyfriend's girly potpourri" Eddy remembered a few 'big words' from Double D's vocabulary and luckily he remembered 'potpourri' for just this occasion, because if that wasn't it then what was it?

"SHHH! SHUT UP DORK!" Kevin growled then poked his head around the corner of the bathroom entrance, "It's not poo-purr-ee..." Kevin's head leaned in real close to Eddy's ear before continuing and whispered "…it's _pot_"

"Pot?" Eddy had heard of the term last year in health class once or twice, but he never paid much attention to it. He knew very little about the plant but he at least knew it was illegal and it was forbidden to smoke in school_. '…they were just smokin', not getting it on, geez I'm a __**genius**__…'_ Eddy thought, finally getting with the program. "What? No money?" his voice cracked, feeling more ticked off by the second.

"Sorry dude, like, just take it okay? It's all we got but it's real rad stuff, you'll like it for sure," Nazz's eyes wandered to her watch, "Come on Kev it's already 12:40, the bell's gonna ring in five minutes" she quickly whipped out a small compact fan. Turning it on to the max speed she cracked open the window and blew the smoke outside. Kevin reached in her purse and started to spray some flowery perfume all around the room.

Eddy wrinkled his nose at the second assault on his nostrils, "Shit," he scoffed and stuffed the plastic-covered green mound in his pants pocket, "Well it better be or else!" Eddy rushed out of the bathroom kicking and knocking over one of the caution signs. _'I expected something different than this stuff…but it might be worth it'_ Eddy's gears were turning in his head, '_But how do I, use it? Smoke it? That was smoke wasn't it?'_

"Eh, Double D will figure it out" Eddy talked out loud to himself, his voice echoing in the empty hallway.

_BRRRRRRNNNGGGG!_

The teen startled and leaped into the air as classroom doors slammed open and poured out a flood of high school students. Eddy began to speed towards Spanish class, spotting a familiar black hat in the crowd.

"Yo, sockhead!" Eddy yelled, jumped and flung his arms in the air, trying to gain Double D's attention.

"Oh, greetings Eddy!" He smiled downwards as his height-challenged companion approached him. While Eddy grew only an inch or two since middle school, he still didn't reach the height of his tall and lanky friend. Edd's dark brown hair grew out only slightly longer than his hat, but he still kept it very well hidden. Facial hair was sprouting in awkward places on Edd's chin, it was apparent he had stayed up late last night studying for another test, ignoring his need for a shave.

"¿Estas listo para la clase de Español?" Edd giggled into his palm at Eddy's perplexed glare.

Eddy had also changed slightly since the turbulent puberty years in junior high. Finally, hair began to grow on his head, a spikey doo, naturally colored a strange combination of black and blue. It was incredibly unruly and impossible to style but Eddy was just glad to have it. He felt suave and mature for once. His chin gained a bit of stubble as well, which even though was minuscule, Eddy was very proud of this small step into manhood.

Tugging at bottom of his shirt, Eddy smoothed the hem over the opening of his pockets, nervously glancing to the side. The last thing he wanted to do was get caught with drugs in school.

"Uhhh sure-o my amigo," sweat appeared on the top of his head as he reached his arm around Double D's shoulder, snagging him and pulling him to his side sharply.

Edd's feet shuffled as he tripped into his friend's hip with a sudden impact "Ow! Eddy, watch it…wait, wha-what's that?" Double D's eyes went wide as he felt a very noticeable bump in Eddy's pants poke his side.

Eddy glanced down, realizing that he had just slammed Double D into the pocket with his newly acquired weed. _'Great, now he probably thinks I have a boner or something,'_ he went along with it to avoid causing a scene.

"What do you think it is Double D? Sheesh, get your ass into class, we're going to be late" and with that Eddy shoved Edd into the room and dashed to his seat.

Edd's face burned red, not only because he was being pushed into the room but because Eddy implied something quite dirty.

"Crude as ever I see, and cease your cursing, in case you have forgotten we're in SCHOOL Eddy,"

"Yeah yeah whatever, who gives a shit? Sit down, Sockhead"

Edd stood in the door way and rolled his eyes, playfully smiling at his foal-mouthed friend, "Whatever you say Eddy," Edd was confused by Eddy's random behavior, but attributed it to his friend trying to tease him as per usual. Edd was often irked by Eddy's classroom escapades, but he couldn't hold in his laughter, secretly enjoying his antics. He was sure Eddy knew it too, which is probably why he would never quit bugging him during the most crucial moments of his studies. Double D was always fully focused on academics as well as diligently following each sticky note left by his parents. However, deep down he longed for the summers when Eddy and Ed planned out scams and Double D transformed them into a reality.

Edd's stomach lurched as Eddy patted the seat next to him, ushering the lanky boy to quit standing there and sit. Eddy's impatient nature was causing Double D to become more anxious and jittery than normal. _'What is he up to?'_ Edd pondered, a question he asked himself very frequently in Eddy's presence. He sat tentatively, noticing Eddy's eyes shift back and forth, monitoring his surroundings.

"Okay, something is going on Eddy, your behavior is absolutely insidious," Double D squinted and looked crossly at his friend while he carefully laid out his pencils, books and notes for Spanish in a precise arrangement.

"I'm _not_ being suspicious!" sweat was now trickling down Eddy's neck, causing him to pull at his collar. The risk of being caught discussing something illegal in school was beginning to hit him.

"Well, tell me about it after school then, I stayed up until _two_ last night studying for my History exam and I'm completely and utterly exhausted" Edd grunted out a long sigh and relaxed into his chair.

Eddy's eyes sparked "After school, ehhh?" Since he had acquired his 'gift' from Kevin and Nazz, he had been surveying where he could try out the stuff. Eddy's place was off limits as his mom was constantly hovering around the house. Ed's place was…not the most comfortable of places, especially with Sarah breathing down their throats. '_But Double D's place is PERFECT! No parents, just sticky notes!'_ at that thought, Eddy wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and smirked at Edd.

"Double D! You're a_ genius_! We're hangin' at your place tonight pal,"

Edd delighted in the compliment and grinned shyly, slightly showing his gap "Hm, it_ is_ Friday…but, what are you planning Eddy? Certainly not another scam, I thought you gave those up years ago," Edd casually stated, in truth he wouldn't have minded using his talents for something other than study.

"Uuuuhhh, something like that, but not quite, look—I'll explain later alright?" The teacher strolled through the door as Eddy finished. He smiled innocently and spoke in a muffled voice through his teeth "Can't talk here,"

Edd just stared at Eddy for a moment before shifting his gaze towards Mrs. Ortiz and greeting her with a quick "Hola, professora Ortiz ¿Cómo está?" being careful to add formality to his speech when addressing the teacher. As she answered Eddward didn't pay close attention, instead he was glancing over to his short conniving neighbor. Eddy sat in his normal posture; feet on the desk, arms behind his head and a lazy look on his face. '_Honestly, if it wasn't for me he'd be failing this class right now_,' Edd scowled, but couldn't stop his heart from beating faster imagining what Eddy had in store for tonight. Ed, Edd and Eddy usually held get-togethers on Friday nights; on occasion they'd watch movies, read comic books and talk about their thrilling school lives. This, however, was the first time Eddy was being so secretive about their plans.

Spanish passed by at an even slower rate than math class did for Eddy; then again, classes always slowed to an unbearable pace on Fridays. When the bell for the next class rang Eddy nearly knocked over his desk jolting out of his chair. Eddward chuckled at his carelessness, "¡Ten cuidado Eddy!"

"Don't test me sockhead, and stop with the Spanish already! Ed and I will be at your place at 4pm SHARP!" Eddy gave Double D an intense evil eye as he walked out the door right before he lost track of his footing and tripped over the threshold with a _**THUD**__._

"It means 'Be careful' Eddy, something you clearly need to be reminded of constantly," Double D giggled to himself as he extended a hand to his mangled friend lying on the floor.

Eddy gaped at his outstretched palm for a few seconds before grabbing it with a _**SMACK**_, squeezing and propelling himself up again. Edd toppled over slightly due to the sudden jerkiness causing his hat to fall over his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah, just be prepared for…you know…" Eddy paused for a moment noticing his fist still curled up around Double D's hand "STUFF!"

Edd cringed at his temporary blindness and wiggled his hand free to fix his hat, "Yes well, be sure to inform Ed of our rendezvous while you two are in gym," Double D promptly turned on his heels and walked towards the library.

"I thought I told you to quit with the Spanish!" Eddy sprinted down the hallway towards the gym, "REMEMBER! FOUR SHARP!" he yelled over his shoulder with the usual brute force to his voice. '_Ugh why does gym have to be __**my**__ last class?'_ as he reached the locker room he slowed to a walk and trudged across the squeaky linoleum floor.

"Oh-ho! Another day of beating our comrades senseless with the ball of despair and destruction, yes?" the sound of a slamming locker door and another voice echoed off the walls.

"Don't rub it in Rolf, poor plank was bedridden for a week after last time!"

"Aw come on guys! It's not so bad! And it is Friday, which means 'Creatures from the Dark Abyss with Mutated Feet' is on tonight!" When Eddy reached the end of the long entrance he saw Rolf and Johnny groan in dismay, return to undressing and donning their Peach Creek High gym clothes.

"EDDY!" The target of Ed's burst of affection was hit with a brunt impact and big, hairy arms wrapped around his torso. "I missed you soooo much!" Ed sniffled and rubbed his nose on Eddy's sleeve. Ed had grown much taller and hairier since his junior high days, which would just end up making Eddy incredibly jealous. He had a mop of dirt brown hair on his head, sporting the 'messy look' everyday. Now six foot he towered over Eddy and Double D when he hugged them, often ignoring his own strength and size.

"Don't have a cow Ed! I saw you in homeroom this morning!" Eddy wiggled free from Ed's iron grip, giving a harsh 'Yuck!' at the sight of the snot on his shirt.

"I know but…but…" Ed's eyes welled up with tears. He had been separated from his best friends for a majority of his classes and the isolation was starting to take its toll on him.

In learning support Ed attempted his work but was often distracted by the flirtatious efforts of May. Ed tried to ignore her but with his short attention span it was close to impossible. He had made leaps and bounds despite this, catching up very closely to his peers in hopes to see his friends more; unfortunately, he still was left out of the regular classes. During art, gym and music however, he was able to see either Edd or Eddy.

"Okay…okay Ed. Come here," Eddy gave up, figuring it was easier to give in and get it over with than prolonging the suffering. Eddy ushered Ed in for a hug and received a tackle. Spilling into a row of lockers, Ed squeezed the life out of Eddy while he giggled with glee. Eddy, still retaining his loud and overbearing nature, softened in other areas of his personality. Since the traumatic trip to his brother's place, he was less likely to take his friends for granted and often caved when Ed wanted so desperately to show his affection. Edd wasn't as upfront with showing his appreciation but he had other ways of showing it "Less obnoxious ways," snorted Eddy.

"What's that Eddy?" Ed's face exploded in a big goofy smile, "Better get dressed Eddy or else you will be late mister!" Ed bounced off towards the gym laughing to himself in a deep voice.

"Crap!" Eddy flung his shirt and pants off then raced for his locker. Comments from the peanut gallery poured in.

Rolf fiercely turned to what see all the commotion was about, nearly tripping over his own gym shorts, "Ho hah!"

"Don't look Plank!" Johnny quickly shielded Plank's eyes, "Come on lets hurry buddy, race ya to class!" he jumped over a few benches and sped out the door carrying his inanimate friend.

Eddy anxiously tried his locker combination, making two or three attempts before succeeding, and began dressing frantically. Catching his foot on his gym shorts, Eddy spilled backwards over the bench behind him and landed sharply on the nape of his neck. "OUCH! Shit, damnit-fuckfuckFUCK!" he clenched his eyes in pain then opened them, finding a very stern looking upside-down Rolf. "Oh, um Rolf, sorry hope I didn't insult your culture or whatever," assuming that he went too far with his swearing problem again.

Rolf stood with one hand on his hip while in the other he held a tiny plastic bag. Eddy quickly recognized that as the pot he had on him, or rather, in his jeans he no longer had on. Rolf's expression was hard and fixated on the bag, squinting his eyes and eyeing up Eddy, then the weed, then Eddy, then the weed.

Eddy's heart started to pound furiously, it almost seemed to echo off the lockers "Umm…that's… uh…" Eddy flipped over and aimlessly searched for his gym shorts. He soon found and stepped into them, not wanting to stand in front of Rolf in only his underwear.

"Ed boy…" Rolf finally spoke, Eddy cringed, fearfully awaiting his fate, "Why you—what do they say in your country? You…son of a gourd?" the suspicion in his expression melted away as Rolf leaned over and used Eddy's head to support his elbow. He held the green matter above his head, observing it in the light.

"Son of a gun Rolf," Eddy grumbled, he didn't appreciate the helpful reminder of his closeness to the ground.

"Hmmm ah hah, I see, very good" Rolf pushed off of his temporary armrest and jabbed Eddy in the shoulder, "And who are you using this on hmmm? You sly goat you…" Rolf winked and jovially laughed as he slapped Eddy's back.

"—oof! Goat?" Eddy searched his brain for a quick answer, he had no clue what Rolf was going on about _'Probably best I play along, seems he knows a lot about this stuff apparently…who am I using it for?' _ "Uh, I dunno, Double D and—" before Eddy could fit Ed's name in, Rolf gasped and a look of complete shock appeared on his face.

"Double D Ed-boy? I cannot say I did not see this coming but…never in a million of my Great Nano's years…" Rolf shook his head and stopped to ponder for a second, causing a second silence to stretch out between the two. Eddy could hardly take this rollercoaster of a conversation, sweat appeared once again on his forehead, he began tapping his foot violently, echoing his anxiety throughout the locker room. Ten seconds…twenty seconds….thirty seconds…

"WHAT?! GOD, JUST TELL ME ALREADY! I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS!" Eddy sobbed, demanding an answer.

"You do not know about the superior qualities of the plant loud mouth Ed-boy?"

"Well of course I do DUH, why else would I BE SCREAMING 'WHAT' SO LOUDLY?!" Eddy figured sarcasm was lost on him but it didn't matter, he was beyond irritated. Having his destiny change from being ratted out to being educated once every ten seconds was skin crawling.

"The customs of your land confuse Rolf…but no matter!" Rolf then leaned in very closely to Eddy's ear, "Then you know of the Mary Jane plant's aphrodisiac qualities, yes?"

Eddy backed away and plopped down on the bench behind him "Afro-dees-a-whats-it-now?"

Rolf groaned "It makes your loins aflame with the fire of passion, do I have to explain everything to you?!" In a huff Rolf slammed his locker door.

Eddy put a finger to his chin and thought for a second, with a _**ping**_ a light bulb went off above his head and a devilish grin grew on his face, "Ooooh heh heh, I see, so it makes you horny, right?"

"Ah so you understand, very good," Rolf then turned towards Eddy with a sympathetic expression "But Rolf will keep your secret of the Double D Ed-boy. Cousin Yonick could have been hanged for that in the old country…but here...you should be fine!"

"Secret, what secret? I'm just going to try it with Double D and-" Eddy paused, realizing the gravity of the miscommunication between Rolf and himself.

"SILENCE! Rolf must go to gym now," He tossed the plastic bag in Eddy's direction before walking out the door. A flash of light from the gymnasium blinded Eddy for a second as he heard the beginnings of roll call.

"Gym, shit!" throwing all shocking thoughts aside, Eddy stuffed the bag back into his jeans and threw his street clothes into his locker. Messily, he threw his gym shirt on before tripping out the door, attempting to put on his sneakers at the same time. He leaped into his spot in line next to Ed, leaned down and began to tie his shoelaces in a huge knot, he had made it just in time.

"…Eddy," the gym teacher was as enthusiastic as always, reciting the names right off the clipboard not even bothering to glance upward.

"Here!" Eddy raised his hand and continued diligently tying his laces. The teacher took a moment to mark a check next to his name.

"Eddward…" A long silence hushed over the class.

_**Th-thump **_

Startled by the volume of his own heartbeat, Eddy lost balance and wobbled to the side. Catching himself, he hastily finished his tie-job, stood up in a flash and slapped a free hand on his chest. _'What the hell was that all about?'_ He glanced around, hoping no one saw. Sure enough, Rolf peeked his head around Ed, waggling his eyebrows. Eddy shot him an enraged glare, Rolf winked once and formed a zipper line on his mouth with two fingers before smugly straightening back into the line. A huge lump seemed to drop in Eddy's stomach, and his free hand clutched his abdomen.

Johnny raised his hand enthusiastically, "Coach, Plank says Double D doesn't come to gym on dodge ball days ever since….the accident," The teacher simply grunted a response of recognition, scribbled down something on the list and moved on.

"Uggh…I feel weird," Eddy began to experience even more physical distress by the second, his face felt hot and the lump in his stomach was only expanding.

"Aw what's wrong Eddy?" Ed, seeing his friend in distress, gave him an aggressive yet reassuring pat on the head "I miss our Double D too,"

"Shut it lumpy," Staggering, heart racing, mouth clenched, fists balled tightly, Eddy's breathing started to become erratic.

"Ooo Eddy you don't look so good," Johnny interjected "Plank says it looks like you might hurl any minute!"

Eddy raised his hand from his chest "Nurse! Gotta go…" _**GASP**_ "to the" _**GASP**_ "nurse," Eddy managed to heave out. The teacher gave an aloof nod from behind his clipboard and pointed to a hall pass hanging on the wall. Not bothering nor wanting to look at the other's reactions as he left, Eddy limped out of the gym and took in a huge breath of air as the door closed behind him.

"What. The. FUCK?!" he exhaled into the empty hallway and forced his feet to start moving forward, "You need to pull yourself together man," Eddy slicked his hand over his unruly hair and began to feel slightly relieved, uncharacteristically glad to be out of the spotlight.

"I only got all crazy when the teacher said…" he trailed off and halted his walking, looking pensive for a split second, "…Ahhh, whatever, it's probably nothin'! Must've been something I had for lunch," Eddy was used to this, tossing his feelings aside to move on with his normal life. Something that was drilled into him as a child still remained etched in his brain; thinking about your emotions was a silly waste of time. Thus, at moments like these Eddy didn't even bother, he just came up with an excuse and carried on.

Back on track to his destination, Eddy slowly became aware of his surroundings, catching a glimpse of a passing sign labeled 'Library' passing on the left. He scooted back and with a curious expression he leaned on the door slightly to peek in. He heard a boyish giggle and rotated his head quickly, "Jimmy…" Eddy used all his efforts to whisper.

Double D and Jimmy were sitting at a table in the center of the library, working on a math problem together. Now in 9th grade, Jimmy had been excelling in the arts yet failing time after time at math and science. His teachers, with all other options exhausted, recruited Eddward to tutor Jimmy. Since Edd obtained his permanent excuse for dodge ball, the school faculty figured it would better for him than to sit idly by during gym. Of course Edd graciously accepted, always happy to help his peers in need.

Eddy continued to watch the two from behind the safety of the full book case._ 'Is Rolf right about that…pot?'_ Eddy rubbed his face with his hand, kneeding his forehead, _'All I wanted was a bro's night and for things to be…less of a drag,'_ Life really was stalling for Eddy and to make it worse he was seeing his two friends less and less. Edd, being a study-holic, was rarely free on weekdays, and Ed, while slightly more available than Double D, had to crack down on his school work by his parents orders. It wasn't like Eddy's parents particularly cared if he was a genius or not, and almost nothing could make him care too much about school. Often he would find himself home alone, listening to a record and feeling sorry for himself. Friday nights were vital for him to keep his sanity, but of course he would never let Double D or Ed know that. _'So what, I'm still gonna try it, Rolf's a kook anyway' _Eddy thought, only half confident with his conclusion.

"I get it, I actually get it! Thank you Double D! I thought I was going to fail Geometry again for sure," Jimmy bounced up and down in his seat and clapped his hands. Eddy rolled his eyes, he was never partial to Jimmy, remembering his sneaky nature in the past.

"No problem at all Jimmy, thank you, but I don't deserve all the credit! It was you who really put forth the effort," Edd smiled brightly and patted Jimmy softly on the shoulder, "Now, let's move onto Biology,"

Eddy clutched the side of the bookshelf, that gripping feeling in his stomach was back and this time it was two-fold.

"STOP THAT ALREADY!" Eddy shouted at the top of his lungs at his body, cursing his unknown illness, forgetting where he was and who was in front of him.

"Eddy?" Double D turned in his direction and lightly waved "A-aren't you supposed to be in gym right now?" Edd smiled kindly at his friend and rose in his seat, "Is something the matter?"

"Uhhh, heh heh, just checking up on you bud making sure everything's coooool…" he retreated slightly, eyeing up Jimmy's puzzled expression on the way "Yep and it looks like it is so I uh, gotta go!" Eddy turned on his heels and raced out of the library, nearly knocking over a cart of books on his way out. Running now in the opposite direction of the nurse's office he opted to go back to class to avoid embarrassing himself further.

**BAM! **A powerful impact pushed Eddy back three feet, miraculously he kept his balance.

"OW! Why don't you watch where you're going?!" Eddy had slammed head first into Sarah.

"Just…" Eddy sucked in a massive puff of air "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, OKAY?! I have had ENOUGH to deal with today so do me a favor and just get the HELL OUTTA MY FACE!" Letting all his anger go in one breath.

"Wow…whatever, geez, what's your problem?" Sarah, stunned, backed up and walked around the flustered boy. She shouted something else down the hallway but Eddy didn't care to hear, he was feeling much better after that. Forgetting about the events prior he strolled down the hall back to gym class. Just ten more minutes and then he'd be home free, preparing for a night with his friends that he so desperately needed.


	2. Creation

Here's chapter two, I know I churned it out pretty fast, but I was just so excited to continue it. I hope it doesn't sound rushed, once again if you have any critiques or comments please don't hesitate. Especially if there is a spelling or grammar mistake (I am really OCD about that). Enjoy!

Hotboxed Ed

Chapter 2

When the final bell rang Eddy was almost beginning to develop heart palpitations. Erratically stuffing his backpack, Eddy's dull expression developed into a small smirk. It quickly transformed into a full blown open-mouthed grin, school was finally out. Charging towards the exit, he approached Ed and Edd at the end of the hallway standing by their lockers. Ed was leaping for joy, tongue out, his flimsy backpack flinging up and down as he bounced. Double D was leaning against the wall, triple and quadruple checking his backpack to ensure his inventory was complete. Eddy didn't want to bother to wait for them, he had a lot of planning to do before the big event, but he had to make sure of something first. Slowing to an in-place jog as he approached, Eddy snagged his friend's argyle tie and tugged Double D towards him.

"Ten pencils and five pens, check. Organic Chemistry 8th Edition, check. Sociology & You, ch-_**gah**_!" when he felt a familiar arm grab him Edd lost his grip on his bag, it fell with a _**thunk**_, "YES, EDDY!? You disrupted me in an extremely vital daily process, you know—"he was cut off yet again.

Eddy rolled his eyes and mouthed 'blah blah blah' "Sockhead, will ya shut up for ONE SECOND? I just wanna make sure you're prepared for tonight" he paused to look around "…your parents won't be there, right?"

"No, never during the weekends…I didn't realize that my parents' absence would be required," Edd's eyebrows furrowed, his suspicions were arising again, Eddy was conniving something awful. "You aren't planning to do anything audacious in my parents' house are you?"

"Me? Do something, um…whatever you said? Course not!" he laughed nervously. Edd, over the years, became more and more efficient at catching him in a lie. Eddy had eventually caught on, and he quickly apprehended just how transparent he was at the moment.

"I'll bring the snacks Eddy!" Ed rifled through his backpack, whipping out a box of gravy.

"I have plenty of nutritious food at my place Ed," grimacing at the thought of eating only gravy for dinner.

Eddy beamed "So it's set, seeya at four!" and with that he tossed Double D back where he found him and barreled through the exit.

"Oof," Edd rubbed his head, attempting to soothe his backlash, watching Eddy run off. Once the doors closed he straightened out his tie "_He's_ acting rather bizarre today,"

"Nah Double D, Eddy's just happy!" Ed knew his friend just as much as Edd did. While not bothering to analyze why, Ed possessed a high sensitivity to emotions. Ed knew that Eddy had been down lately, he could feel it, and it was part of the reason why he missed him so badly. Seeing his best friend with all that energy and excitement again was a saving grace for Ed.

"If you say so Ed," Edd finished the last check of his school items and shut his locker. Ed maintained his goofy smile and skipped out the double doors, not even flinching when one swung and slammed him on the head. Edd cautiously followed, he rested his hand on his cheek as he walked along, deep in thought.

"3:55…we have plenty of time," Eddy rubbed his hands together. He had just spent almost forty-five minutes at his turntable choosing between a Tom Jones and a Jamie Cullum record. He decided to switch it up and chose Jamie, placing the needle down delicately; the jazzy tune of "Get Your Way" began to flow through his speakers. Eddy hopped down from his foot stool snapping his fingers to the beat, dancing along as he stepped towards his closet.

_Dinner at eight that sounds fine, I suppose that means you'll show up 'round nine_

Not wanting to seem like he spent a lot of time choosing an outfit, Eddy opted for a comfortable sweatshirt and jeans. Walking over to the mirror Eddy attempted to style his disobedient hair with some gooey gel, trying to part it just right. Nothing was working.

_Bought a bunch of flowers just for her, she says the burden's on the receiver_

"Screw it," he combed the part out of his hair and rustled his scalp a few times.

_I opened the door, and you walked in, the smell of wild jasmine, the room seemed to freeze in time, my regular table will be just fine_

"Eh, it'll do," Eddy quit fooling around with his doo and went for his bed stand. Pulling open the drawer, he reached in, grabbed the bag of weed and fell backwards onto his bed.

_Radiant and elegant, you might be, but your concentration is so go-lighty, both of your eyes reflecting the moon, you really think you own the room_

Eddy pushed the herb up against the side of the bag and examined the nugget; he hadn't had the chance to give it a close look before. To his surprise, it wasn't just green colored; there were some orangey-browns and what looked to be small snowflakes sitting on top of the leaves. "I wonder if it really is as great as Nazz says it is…looks weird,"

_So what game shall we play today? How about the one where you don't get your way? And even if you do, that's okay_

Eddy put his thoughts on hold and crossed his leg over to rest on his knee. Swinging his foot to in time to the beat he sang along to the repeat of the chorus.

"_So what game shall we play today? How about the one where you don't get your way? And even if you do, that's okay…."_

Eddy lowered the bag to the bed, closed his eyes and got lost in the music as he normally did on nights by himself. He caught himself briefly thinking about his sudden illness earlier in the day, Eddy hummed louder along with the trumpet, attempting to distract himself. The sweat, shakiness, jumpiness—what was it all about?

_Try to pick it up, reading the signs, it's turning out to be a real good time_

A familiar scene was slowly coming back to him, the library, seeing Jimmy and Double D. A flash of anger shot upward from his chest to his throat.

_And who'd have thought that entertainment, Lies in the winter of your discontent_

'_This is stupid'_ closing his eyes tighter Eddy grabbed his pillow and hugged it to his head. _'Why does Jimmy need Sockhead's help anyway? 'I'm failing math just as badly as he is, maybe I should be the one getting tutored'_

_Now, sit at the table, face to face, Queen takes pawn, check or checkmate!_

'_Why am I even mad about this?'_

_I feel your foot brush against my leg, I'm not that easily led_

Eddy coughed and flung his body upright, he did not want to listen to the song anymore. He threw his pillow across the room and hit the turntable, knocking the needle off the record.

_You flutter your eyes and you toss you hair, I have to say it is kind of unfa—_

The room was silent, except for the erratic heavy breathing. Eddy clenched his fists and glanced at the clock, 3:58.

"FuuUUUCK!" Eddy reluctantly lifted himself off the bed and rushed to the mirror to double check before turning towards the pillow lying on the ground. He tossed it back onto his bed and lifted the record off the turntable into the air, checking each side for cracks and scratches, he was lucky, no marks; Eddy may be brash with his temper but he still had pride in his collection. He slipped it back into the protective sleeve. Checking twice to make sure he had grabbed everything he needed, Eddy jammed the weed into his pocket before stepping out his sliding door and locking it. A chilling breeze rolled in and shook a few leaves off of the trees. Cursing the cold weather, Eddy zipped his hoodie up to his neck and paced towards the direction of Edd's house.

Edd was busy making preparations for dinner, ignoring Ed's 'culinary suggestions'.

"I'm telling you Double D, gravy tastes great on tacos! Oo—we could even make buttered toast tacos with double gravy!" Ed grinned ear to ear, he was ecstatic to be spending time with Edd and Eddy after a long week.

Double D gave a lecture to him on proper eating habits before assigning Ed to make the nachos, it was difficult to mess up. Edd opened the oven door with a _**creak**_ and placed a tray of neatly folded quesadillas on the rack.

Ed reached into the microwave and pulled out a plate of nachos, completely covered in gravy "That's muy bueno my señorita!" Ed burst out laughing.

Double D just smiled and shook his head. Not bothering to correct the loveable oaf, he took off his oven mitts and shot a look at the clock. 4:05pm.

'_Eddy appeared so concerned about __**my**__ punctuality but he doesn't even bother to show up on time,' _visibly bothered, Edd hung the oven mitts on the designated hook.

**DING-DONG**

"Finally…" Edd sauntered over to the door and laid his palm on the handle.

**DING-DONG DING-DONG DING-DONG!**

He swung the wooden door open "EDDY! COME ON, SERIOUSLY!?"

Eddy laughed and grinned innocently from the other side of the screen, "Who me?"

Edd ushered him inside with an open hand, holding his annoyance inside. Eddy ran full force into the kitchen, "What's cookin'? Smells good…Heh heh," now that he was actually here, he was slightly nervous about bringing up the big surprise.

"Well thank you Eddy, but flattery won't get you anywhere," Edd sat on a stool by the center counter; he faced Eddy and squinted his eyes, gaze dead center on his friend's face, "Care to inform me about your little secret?" he got right to the point.

Eddy shivered, his ears burned from the change in temperature "Secret? Ahm…" a memory flashed in Eddy's mind in mention of that word.

'_But Rolf will keep your secret of the Double D Ed-boy…'_

"It's this!" Eddy slapped his outer thigh, the pain brought him back to reality. Pushing his hand into his pocket Eddy brought the item out in a closed fist, he pulled a stool up and sat next to Double D. "Here," Eddy delicately placed it on the counter.

Edd stared at the object on the table for a few seconds, not saying a word. Ed leaned down to level with the counter, cautiously observing it.

"What is it Eddy?" Ed stretched his arm over and poked it twice. "It looks like an alien substance from planet—"

"Eddy…is that what I think it is?" Double D rubbed his forehead, he felt a headache coming on.

"I dunno, what do_ youuu_ think it is? You're the smart one," Eddy knew he was being a smartass, but pushing Edd to his limits was one of his favorite past times.

"Don't be coy with me Eddy, do you have any idea what my parents would think, let alone whole Cul-De-Sac would think, if they were privy to the fact that I had _**marijuana**_ on our residence?" Edd clenched his teeth, beginning to boil over; it was taking him everything to hold his composure.

"Don't be such a goody two-shoes, besides, you said it yourself, your parents ain't here," Eddy ended his statement with crossed arms and a smug look.

Double D unclenched his jaw and relaxed his shoulders, Eddy wasn't totally off base. His parents religiously left for their respective business trips every Friday afternoon before he returned from school.

'_As if they weren't gone enough' _Double D fought the urge to make that remark out loud.

Edd tapped his finger on the table top and weighed the consequences. While Edd was familiar with the dangers of drugs he also had educated himself about the actual physiological and psychological impact of each. He was less concerned about the weed itself, more about getting caught and blemishing his pure image in the public eye. However, Double D was in no mood to fight, seriously worn out from his late-night study session.

"You're right,"

"Excuse me?" Eddy chocked. Completely astonished he lifted an eyebrow and leaned back, perhaps a bit too far, "Are you sick or-?" the stool flipped back and Eddy landed flat on his butt.

Edd covered his mouth with his fingertips and giggled softly, "Do I have to help you up for the _second_ time today?" he offered a hand to his fallen friend once again.

Eddy rubbed his lower back and grunted, "Wha? Oh, just can it," wincing, he lifted his head.

**Th-tump**

Eddy froze, "D-don't laugh at me Sockhead, I can help myself up!" he backed away from Edd's hand and hoisted himself up using the edge of the counter. Fixing the stool, Eddy climbed back and scooted a few inches away in the opposite direction.

"Oh. I see," Edd retreated his hand to his chest, slightly hurt but moving onto more pressing matters, "Care to explain where you found this?" his eyes motioned to the mound on the table, anxiety chipping away a bit.

Eddy smirked and proudly puffed out his chest "Found Kevin and Nazz with it in the bathroom, they were worried I'd tell the teachers or somethin' so-"

"So you _blackmailed_ them, Eddy?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"SO, it's incriminating, unjust, illegal and—"

"Well, so is smoking in the school bathroom!"

"So is smoking in any place AT ALL, Eddy!"

"SHUUUUSH!" Ed hushed his two friends by smacking his palms against their mouths, "Stop fighting!" he pleaded.

Eddy pried Ed's hand off of his lips, "Alright already, sheesh"

Edd picked Ed's hand off finger by finger "My apologies Ed,"

"So how do you smoke this stuff?" Eddy pointed to the weed and lifted an eyebrow.

"It's commonly placed, lit and inhaled through a rolled cigarette, pipe or other paraphernalia," Edd counted with his fingers as he spoke.

"I didn't ask you to write me a book, just figure it out!" Eddy tossed his hands up in the air, he didn't expect this to be so complicated.

"Judging by the fact that we're far too young to buy any sort of smoking apparatus it seems like we'll have to create a device of sorts…" Edd faltered at the end of his statement, his heart beat began to pick up.

"Okay, so….make somethin'! Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to work," Eddy rested his chin on his hand and flicked a speck off the counter.

"You aren't seriously implying we actually-" Double D, still slightly hesitant, found himself staring a puppy-eyed Ed straight in the face.

"Double D…" Ed whimpered, tears began to form in his eyes. Ed wasn't able to articulate it but he had a nagging feeling this was monumental for his friends. The thought of Edd walking away from it brought Ed to the brink of anguish.

Edd, taken aback, sighed, he was defeated. There was no way he could compete with that look, and he would never want to make Ed cry. Double D's morals started to crumble away and he stretched his hat over his eyes in shame.

"Fine, get me some paper and a pen," he was pouting, but inside his heart was fluttering and his fingers were aching to write. It had been years since he had drawn up a plan for a scam, or even created anything for that matter. In his house, academics took precedence, Edd hardly had time to complete all his projects let alone come up with a new invention.

"OH BOY, OH BOY!" Ed scampered over the table top and gave Edd a huge hug. Ed smiled affectionately and nuzzled his friend's chest.

Eddy heard the whole ordeal but he was too busy searching for a pen, trying to speed things up. He didn't care to watch his two friends hugging when just a few seconds ago he was straining to merely touch Edd's hand. He grumbled to himself as he exited the kitchen, finding himself entering a room with piles of books and papers, "Hasta' be a pen in here somewhere…"

"Eddy, w-wait!" Edd called from beneath a mountain of Ed. He squeezed out of the hold and darted in front of Eddy. "That's mother and father's study, completely off limits!"

"So what? They ain't here," Eddy shoved his hands in his pockets, he was beginning to get annoyed, "You don't have to be such a tight-ass,"

"Oh! You know what, I have a pen in my backpack, no need to go in there," Edd sassed in a sarcastic tone and shooed Eddy away from the doorway. Shutting the door behind him tightly, Edd grabbed his backpack and pulled out a notebook and heavy-duty metal pen. Strolling back over and sitting at the counter, Edd's gears began turning.

Sifting through common ideas such as using a soda can or tinfoil, Edd rejected them quickly. He was thinking about the most effective, safest way to smoke. He cringed at that thought, _'The safest way to smoke something? Almost impossible' _but he continued, knowing how much it meant to Ed and Eddy that he completed this task.

While Double D worked, Eddy and Ed resorted to buffooning around, as usual. Making paper footballs and airplanes with what they pillaged in Edd's backpack, they ran around the kitchen playing catch with their creations. While might had been distracting to him before, Edd paid them no mind, he was much too focused in his work.

"Metal and glass are the most innocuous materials…" he stopped writing for a second and tapped his pen on the counter, it made a heavy sound on the wood.

_**Thunk Thunk**_

Edd glanced down, observing his pen, raising it up he began unscrewing the tip. Pinching it between his fingertips he contemplated his next step.

"If I could just…" Double D placed the tip down and took the metal tube from the body of the pen. He flipped the tip over and placed it in the metal tube, point down. It wouldn't stick. Edd, lost in his mind and forgetting his surroundings, started to slam the two together on the counter, forcing it in.

_**BAM BAM!**_

"Go long Eddy!" Ed blasted and launched a poorly constructed paper plane that wizzed through the air at random intervals.

"I got it! I got it! I go—" Eddy jumped at the near construction-level noise coming from behind him. He tripped over himself and toppled into a cabinet, the whole structure fell on him.

"Eddy!" Edd was suddenly jarred from his thoughts, holding his elbows up high he ran towards his fallen friend for the third time today. "Are you alright?"

Ed lifted the cabinet up and flung it to the side "Ed to the rescue!" Ed peered down, his friend was severely crushed " ...Eddy, don't die on us!"

"D-didja figure it out yet D-double D?" Eddy managed to squeak out, his teeth nearly breaking and his hair flying in different directions.

Edd chuckled, "Almost, I just need something to…" he spotted a familiar item by Eddy's head, "Pardon my reach Eddy,"

Eddy snapped out of his daze as he watched Edd drift closer to his face. He tensed up and flung his arms up to protect himself. That steady beat was back again, _**th-thump th-thump**_. Double D's hand lightly brushed against Eddy's ear, grasping a cylinder-shaped object next to him.

"WOAH!" Eddy lept up and clung to the wall, "Watch it!"

Edd paid him no mind, in fact, he hardly heard him. He waltzed back to the table, opened a small drawer and pulled out a pill organizer and some tweezers. Edd had picked up a prescription medicine bottle from the rubble. Very tentatively he used the tweezers to pick each pill up individually and placed them in their respective days until the bottle was empty.

"Two pills a day…Monday…Tuesday…Wednesday…"

Eddy, still pressed against the wall felt rage build up inside of him, "HEY! Didn't ya hear what I said?!"

No answer.

Face glowing red, Eddy stomped over to the hyper-focused boy. _**SLAM!**_ Eddy's fist made contact with the countertop and the pills rustled in their dividers. The empty orange bottle fell over and rolled onto the floor.

Shaken, Edd covered the organizer with his arms and frantically closed the top. His hands shook as he placed it back in the drawer before flinging his head towards his friend with a concerned look. His worst fears were realized; Eddy was holding the bottle and reading the label.

"Hydro….ex…y…zine?" he butchered the word, "Take twice a day for—"

"That's quite enough!" Edd, although a pacifist was reaching his breaking point, he swiped the bottle from Eddy before he could finish reading "Please, Eddy! Let me work!"

"Okay okay, so get to it _Picasso_," Eddy kicked the floor and walked back to the other side of the room where Ed was waiting patiently.

Edd peeled the label off of the container, folded it up and placed it out of sight in his pocket, "Ed, could you fetch me a knife, please? A sharp one not a butter knife"

"One shiny, pointy knife coming right up!" Ed skipped towards the knife block in the corner of the kitchen.

Eddy's eyes grew wide "WAIT WHAT?!" panicked, he searched for a large chair to hide behind.

Edd rolled his eyes "Not for YOU Eddy…that's far too big Ed, yes that's perfect, thank you" When Ed returned, Double D gripped the knife handle and began digging two holes, one on the bottom of the bottle and one on the side. Testing the size of his hole he pushed the metal tube with the pen tip in it into the base hole. Bending over he rifled through his backpack for another pen, unscrewed the tube off and placed the other one in the side hole he made. Lastly, he carved a slightly smaller hole near the cap of the bottle.

"Ta-dah!" it wasn't his best work of course but Edd was proud, especially since it only took him 10 minutes to think of and produce.

"How does it work Double D?" Ed clapped his hands together.

"Simple Ed, you place the marijuana here," he held the bottle upside down and pointed to the tube with the tip jammed inside "Then you use the tube on the side to inhale, you even have a small hole to allow for airflow. Now, all we need is a way to light it," as soon as Edd ended his winded explanation the sliding sound of metal on the counter drew his attention.

"Like this one?" Eddy was back with the group again, leaning on the counter with his elbow, he was glad to finally contribute even if it was just a tiny lighter.

"…So are you smoking cigarettes as well Eddy? Quite the rebel you're turning out to be," to Eddy's dismay, Edd was not impressed.

"…I found it in my brother's room," Eddy said blankly, "So are we ready?"

Double D's eyes went wide, "I suppose so..." he didn't want to disappoint his friends but the thought of trying a mind-altering drug for the first time was beyond anxiety-provoking. His palms became sweaty, he grasped the handle to the drawer in which he had placed the pill organizer earlier. Clutching the handle he kneaded his finger tips against the metal, trying to soothe himself.

'_You don't need it, you can do this on your own,'_

"W-well shall we depart to my room?" Edd smiled nervously and bit his lip.

"I AM SO EXCITED!" Ed grabbed both of his best friends and placed them delicately under his armpits. He skipped towards Double D's room merrily "We are going to smoke the alien plant from the mystery planet, sector 420!"

Eddy groaned and hung his head, Edd glanced over at him and couldn't help but crack a smile. Even if he was breaking the rules and risking a lot, at least he was doing it with his best friends.

'_Maybe this won't be so dreadful after all'_


	3. Connection

Ed frolicked up the stairs towards Double D's room, clasping both of the boys under his arms as their heads bounced up and down with each leap. The clock read 4:15pm as Ed kicked the bedroom door open and carried his friends inside like a married couple walking over the threshold.

"Ed, that's quite enough, I can walk on my own now, thank you," Double D slid his head out of the chokehold and smoothed out his clothing. Now at home he had already ditched his tie and cardigan, donning just his usual orange and violet outfit.

Ed took his empty hand and lifted Eddy up in the air like a baby, spinning around "And here you go Eddy, a spot just for you" he gently placed Eddy on the center of the bed and patted his head. Eddy crossed his arms, tightened his brow and huffed. He was in high school and he was still coddled, he couldn't stand it.

"I'm not a kid Ed," Eddy clenched his teeth. At that comment the corner of Double D's mouth raised up in amusement. He strolled over the bed to join his two comrades.

"Aw Eddy, coochie-coo" Ed waggled his finger towards Eddy's cheek and laughed deeply. Eddy's anger was building, he really wasn't in the mood, he sharply turned his head and bit Ed's finger. Ed just stood there and laid his other hand on his cheek, "Oooh! Eddy's cranky Double D!"

"Perhaps he requires a nap," Edd could hardly control his snickering behind his palm. While he tended to be pacifistic and non-confrontational, Eddy always seemed to bring out another side of him.

Eddy snarled at Edd tightening his arms against his chest "Watch it sockhead…"

The two boys standing by the bed erupted in laughter. Suddenly, Ed halted in his tracks and formed a horrified look on his face. His head spun around frantically searching, his expression soon turned south.

"**TV!**" he yelled at the top of his lungs, Edd and Eddy cringed, covering their ears, "We need TV so I can watch The Creatures from the Dark Abyss with Mutated Feet Special, Part Two, Chapter Four, Section twe—"

"Okay okay! Let's just go to the living room then," Eddy rolled his eyes at his friend's distress. Ed's smile returned and he galloped towards the door.

"Hold it Ed!" Edd slid in front of the door, blocking Ed's path, "If we are smoking anything it MUST be done in my room, I will not have us dirtying mother and father's foreroom with ash and smoke!"

"But DOUBLE D, TV!" Ed used his puppy dog eyes again, his secret weapon, but Edd would not budge, not on this debate.

"I'm sorry, but I simply won't be persuaded this time," Edd crossed his arms and closed his eyes, blocking out the visual of the pain he must have been causing Ed.

"Just bring the damn TV in here then, problem solved," Eddy was becoming impatient, his hand had found the "Sack" label above Edd's bed. His fingernail dug underneath the crease, lifting up the sticker a bit as he fingered it.

"Great idea, Eddy! Pardon me, madam," Ed bowed politely before squeezing by Edd and running out the doorway towards the living room. Double D stood dumbfounded, he held his hand next to his mouth and yelled down the hall.

"I guess that's not an awful idea Ed, but…" He turned apprehensively back towards his room, "I so dislike having a television in my room, so unnecessary, uneducational and—"

"So? Just put it back when he's done," Eddy had already pulled the label on the bed frame halfway off. He had taken the liberty to fully stretch out, resting on his back and laying his head on the pillow. His mannerisms were displaying boredom while his insides were turning in twenty different directions.

"Eddy I thought I told you time and time again not to manhandle my labels," Edd grumbled and leaned against the doorway. Every so often he would poke his head out to listen for any sounds of destruction coming from downstairs. Surprisingly, Ed didn't sound like he was creating any sort of carnage.

"No one's 'manhandling' anything here Sockhead…" he said, using air quotes for Edd's unique choice of words. Eddy just stared up at the ceiling and managed to stop picking at the sticker. Instead, he found some dirt under his fingernails to dig at. He wanted to relax, but he couldn't keep his hands still, something inside of him was building up. After so many upsets today he couldn't handle another one, he stopped talking, attempting to save face. Ed was taking his time downstairs and a very noticeable, awkward gap of quiet extended between the two friends_._

Edd pressed a foot into the carpeting and rubbed his arm, it was the first time he hadn't been sure of what to say around Eddy. Leading up to this point they were always laughing with each other or bickering back and forth about something, there was no empty space. Double D had been sensing a decline in Eddy's mood recently, especially today, but he didn't dare bring it up now. He was nervous to set him off, anxious to confront him about it. It wasn't a topic that he could simply casually argue about. Double D's concern about his friend the past semester was an affair he'd have to solve with a long and winded conversation. However, each time the opportunity presented itself to Edd, he rarely took it.

_'He'll figure it out on his own…'_ Edd convinced himself, _'If he requests my assistance I'll be glad to help but…' _a crash startled him from behind.

"TEE VEE! Guys, I got it!" Ed shouted and shoved Double D as he reentered the bedroom, the television wires were hanging out in all different directions, bundled up in his arms. Kicking the door closed, Ed trudged to the center of the room with the pile. Edd fell forward and stumbled towards the bed. He managed to retain his balance by catching the edge of the mattress with his hand.

"Oh um, pardon me Eddy," Double D motioned for his friend to scoot over.

Startled, Eddy shook the mattress as he lifted himself up on his elbows. He could feel the surface sink next to his hip, he didn't dare move.

Ed began his operation on the set, scanning the wall for an outlet and dragging a chair to the bed, placing the TV on it, "Ed, ED! BE CAREFUL! Make sure you return my furniture to its designated location immediately after tonight!"

"Shhh, I got this!" Ed prided himself in his work, the one device he religiously knew how to program. He successfully plugged the TV in and flipped the switch. Eyebrow bending in concentration he placed an ear up against the screen and turned the dials until a grainy picture of a commercial appeared. The sound cut through the awkwardness, helping Eddy relax slightly.

"On in t-minus four minutes!" Ed grinned wildly at his accuracy. Turning around to face the bed he shouted "DOG PILE!" and leaped onto the frightened boys.

"Watch it!" Eddy yelled before his body was smashed up against the wall. To his discomfort he felt something hard against his stomach.

"Ack, Ed please," Edd meant to sound stern but it came out in a giggle. He noticed his head was buried in something soft and squishy.

"D-Double D!" Eddy grabbed his head and pushed Edd down to relieve the pressure from his abdomen, "You're suffocating me!"

"Eddy…" Edd's muffled voice emerged from underneath Eddy, his head was completely sat on.

"Shit, um uhh," Eddy shifted around and lifted his leg, allowing for Edd's freedom. Double D gasped for air and leaned against the wall. Sighing, he fell back and sunk into the mattress again.

Ed rose up from the bed and grabbed the supplies off of the counter, "Bon appétit!" he stated casually and tossed the lighter to Eddy, the bag of weed and the home-made bowl to Edd. Ed took his place next to Double D and peered over at him, Eddy's gaze found his friend in the middle as well.

"Okay…" Eddy paused, a bit hesitant, he clapped his hands and rubbed them together "Let's get this show on the road!"

Brow glistening with a slight sweat, Edd took the cue and dug a hand into the bag, snapping off a small portion of the plant. He lifted it up and wrinkled his nose, it smelled like a combination of freshly cut grass and skunk scent to him. The TV flashing in front of them provided an eerie glow as Double D held his pill-bottle pipe up and inserted the weed in the tip of the top tube.

"Is it ready Double D? It's about to start!" Ed pointed to the television.

Eddy shot a confused look at the clock "Hah! What kinda show starts at 4:20?" Eddy laughed at the 16 year old child sitting next to him, Ed never changed. The thought provided Eddy with some consistency and comfort in the moment, at least Ed was staying the same.

"Lighter please Eddy," Eddy tossed the lighter on Edd's lap. Edd glanced down at the cool metal on his leg, he grasped it and opened the top. Shakily he placed his finger over the spark wheel and began flicking, once, twice, three times.

"Oh just…JUST give it to me already!" Eddy grabbed the lighter and bowl from the very relieved looking teen. "Let a PRO show you how it's done," Eddy flicked the lighter once, sparks flew and a small flame appeared. "…Now what do you do?" Eddy glanced at Edd, lost.

"Light the marijuana up top then inhale to the side…at the same time if I recall correctly, and establish you are covering the hole on the bottom first"

"O-okay…" Eddy placed his mouth on the cold metal, tightly gripped the lighter and lowered it onto the green. The weed burned orange and red, smoke began to billow upwards.

"T-too long Eddy, it'll burn! Inhale now!" Edd fanned the top as the small fire slowly dimmed out.

Eddy sucked in as hard as he could; the smoke collected in the clear orange bottle and flowed through the tube into his mouth. The smoke traveled down to his throat, then to his lungs. It burned and caused Eddy to tense up, he didn't want to seem weak in front of his friends, he had made a fool of himself today plenty of times already. The fire in his throat was almost too much to bear at this point, '_Just two more seconds'_ he told himself, _'Hold it…'_

"ACK!" Eddy spit, coughed and hacked up the remainder of the exhaust. Strangely, there was a lot less smoke in his breath coming outward than inward. Eddy wrote it off. "Your turn Sockhead," he passed it towards the middle, hacking all over himself.

Edd cringed, but took it regardless; Ed's eyes were locked on him and watching his every move, even though his beloved program was beginning in the background. Edd ignored the overwhelming feeling of his room closing in on him and tried his best to imitate Eddy's actions.

Click…click…click. He still couldn't get the lighter to work. Eddy glared at him, only raising Edd's heart rate.

"Give it here, I'll do it," Eddy, fed up, stuffed the metal tube into Edd's mouth and held the lighter to the now brown and green mound of weed. Lighting the top, Eddy began to feel more confident in himself, he smiled and lowered his voice "Here, inhale,"

Edd did, he took the biggest breath he could manage. The decrease of volume in Eddy's voice was stupefying and caused Double D to straighten up in his spot. Eddy smirked and held the flame to the bud longer than he had for his hit, producing twice the amount of smoke. Arching his back, Edd sucked in the very last bit of white smoke in the bottle.

**Kkkkaauf! **An ungodly noise came from Double D's open mouth. He bent over and laid his head on his knees, coughing violently.

"Your turn Ed…." Eddy reached over the boy hunched over in the center.

Ed, now seeing that his friends were taken care of, grabbed the supplies without even looking away from the television. He lit and beat the bowl, sucking in the smoke very quickly and holding it in for a good ten seconds.

Eddy's eyebrow raised "How didja learn to do THAT?"

"Heh heh secrets Eddy," Ed glued his eyes on the screen.

"Hahahaha…ahah…ah…" muffled laughs and giggles could be heard from the boy curled up in a ball next to them.

"What's up with you?" Eddy lifted an eyebrow, but quickly lowered it. He didn't have the energy to interrogate anyone, his body was starting to sag heavily.

Edd turned his head to the side, his beanie's tail was covering half his face but Eddy had a full view of the huge grin on his face regardless.

"A straight 'A' student like me, smoking weed in my parents' house,"

"Oh don't get started on this again…" Eddy rolled his eyes, his hands began to tingle. He squeezed his hands together and slouched against the wall.

"It's hilarious….aheh…" Edd stifled his giggles with the collar of his shirt, a few droplets of spit formed at the top.

"Uh, you okay pal?"

Edd didn't say anything but nodded once, for some reason that felt right to Eddy. The world was beginning to fall into place; the smoke in the air was twirling in time to the music coming from Ed's show. His chest fell and he sunk downwards, not even flinching when he felt Edd's shoulder against his. Eddy leaned his head back against the wall and smiled.

"What are we supposed to be feeling anyway…?" Eddy's words were coming out at half speed.

Edd was laughing with his arms at his side, "Well we are…ahah…supposed to be feeling, relaxed. Ah…happiness, erm euphoria and…" he was losing his ability to think clearly and the part of him that cared was slowly fading away. Edd's body felt light, it was a great relief to take the burden off of his chest, which felt heavy and tight almost every day.

Eddy was still waiting for the last part of Edd's sentence "And….?" a thought in his mind began to spark up again.

Double D turned to face Eddy, he looked down at him and moved a few inches closer, "You know what? …I forgot!"

Eddy suddenly remembered what it was. He attempted to retreat, but only found himself wedged in-between wall and bedpost. Edd, oblivious, placed a hand on Eddy's shoulder.

"I missed you,"

Eddy blinked, his brain took a few minutes process the situation. He opened his mouth slightly, beginning to say something, but he stopped each time. The touch on his right, the words that were just said to him and the eyes that looked him dead in the face all provoked a thousand different physical reactions at once. Nervousness rushed through his hands as they began to rub the fabric near the legs of his jeans together. His toes began to clench in his sneakers and the back of his neck tingled. His usual overwhelming need to push him away was gone. Eddy looked down, avoiding Edd's gaze and eyeing up a familiar shape in his lap. Random erections were something that Eddy was used to by this time, he crossed his legs and lifted his sight again. Edd's face had gone completely serious, his eyes squinted and now both of his hands were on Eddy's shoulders.

"Edd, wha-?" Eddy shocked himself at using Double D's real name, but he couldn't get many syllables out. He was too focused on wondering why his erection wasn't going down. He wiggled in his place, only causing Eddy to form a quiet groan in his throat. He turned his head to the side and concealed it with a cough.

"Eddy…we….have…quesadillas," Edd announced with great gravity in his voice, as if was just announcing he had found the cure for cancer.

"And TACOS!" Ed bellowed from behind Double D, the show was on a commercial break.

"Ah—wait wait wait, let me do something before we go out there," Eddy reached into his pocket and found a small glass bottle. Uncapping it, Eddy began to spray a crisp scent into the air.

Before Double D could even say anything, Eddy explained "Just one of those free perfume samples my mom gets,"

"They'll burn come onnnn!" Ed whined, ushering his friends to follow him to the kitchen.

Everything was an amusing struggle for Edd, climbing off of the bed, walking down the hall and the stairs. He had lived there his whole life but for some reason, right now he felt like this was his first time visiting. He eyed up the sticky notes in the hallway and kitchen, not even reading them once. Double D gathered all his focus before he used two oven mitts to carefully retract the food out of the oven and place it on the stove top. The three teens stood over the tray and gaped at it, they were famished.

Ed dug in first, grabbing a quesadilla, a taco, and half the nachos, pouring them in his mouth in one bite. He never was one to eat for taste, and his eating habits imitated those of his early years.

Edd took one quesadilla and took a small bite. The flavor burst throughout his mouth.

"Eddy, you have to try this, it's…great" Edd sighed out.

"Oh yeah? What's so great about it? It's just some lousy Mexican food," Eddy bit down on his dish and stopped. "Wait, where did you get this? It's actually good," Eddy paused to chew.

"I didn't get it anywhere I made it," Edd's vocabulary was slipping, but he wasn't too worried, he was more intrigued by the flattery he just received.

"You're lying, Sockhead," Eddy was now holding a small piece of tortilla; he had eaten most of his food already, "You couldn't make anything like this,"

"No really Eddy," Edd giggled and took another small bite, nearing the center.

Eddy felt Ed's hand grab the back of his shirt and lift him up, "Commercials are over folks, now back to our regularly scheduled program,"

Eddy hung his head this time, feeling the gravity he never noticed around his body. Double D was hoisted up by Ed, onto his shoulder and carried back to the room, he was still munching on his dinner.

On Double D's bed, the three boys sat and started forming indentations on the mattress. After finishing dinner, the Eds settled in to watch some quality scifi television. Eddy wasn't paying much attention to the show, he circled the room with his gaze. _'Are there more labels here than I remember?' _Eddy pondered, it had been a while since they had used Edd's place as a hangout spot. His sight stopped on the desk, some scratch marks in the wood stood out among all the other perfectly arranged objects. He glanced to his right, Edd was curled up about an inch away next to him, he almost seemed shorter than Eddy. Double D's hands grasped his knees and held them close to his body, he was surprisingly glued to the alien scifi show. Eddy looked closer at Edd's hands, his fingernails seemed unusually short. _'Did they always look like that?'_

"Hey," Edd very suddenly popped his head up and cleared his throat, "Do you two want to…um…try smoking for a second time?" there was some hesitation in his voice.

Eddy felt like he should have been surprised, but no words came out, he just grabbed the bowl and the plastic bag, repeating the process. No questions asked from Ed either.

The second time around the boys had gotten the hang of it, except for Edd who still posessed his lighter operating problem. Without even asking, Eddy took it away from Double D and began flicking the wheel, he didn't mind that much helping out this time. Ed of course took a single big hit and placed the bottle back on the side table. His eyelids heavily fell halfway closed, the smoke and the food were starting to weigh him down. Ed's heavy head drifted from side to side and a big grin appeared on his face. He finally toppled over and laid cozily on his side, curled up on the pillow by the headboard.

Edd patted Ed's shoulder as he plopped down next to him. It was unusual for him to be so willingly touchy-feely, but something was different about tonight. Double D found himself staring at the window across the room, the sun was almost gone in the sky. He smiled and shimmied himself lower into the plush of the covers. Eddy next to him was sitting with one arm resting on his knee, trying his hardest to look 'cool' and not like he was blazed out of his mind. He let his gaze drift to Double D once every couple of minutes, purely by accident. He would zone out, and being able to not think for once today was incredibly refreshing.

Eddy caught something out of the corner of his eye, "What's that light?"

"What light?" Double D kept his smug expression as he turned to face Eddy more directly.

"Outside, it looks kinda like…" Eddy froze, "W-where's that perfume stuff I had?"

"The nightstand, why?" Edd lifted his head and struggled to see, "Headlights?"

"Ahhhh haaa, just wanna freshen up the place," Eddy tried to keep his composure, dreading the worst. Eddy crawled over Ed's body; he stretched and struggled to reach the glass container.

_**Creeeek**_ the sound of a door opening echoed downstairs and heavy footsteps on the wooden floor started towards the stairs. Eddy finally retrieved the perfume and began spraying it around the room frantically.

Eddy heard Double D place his feet on the ground, "Shh, stay in bed, we can just hide or somethin' " When he completed his final spray sweep Eddy found Edd wrapped up in his comforter directly behind him. He was on his tippy toes and looked upwards at the top of the door.

"Father?" Edd's hand shakily floated to the handle.

"Sockhead, what do you think you're doing? Go hide," Eddy whispered through clenched teeth.

Edd ignored him and mumbled to himself, only taking the knob now and twisting, "What is he doing home? Did he misplace something?"

Eddy flung his hand over and grabbed Double D by the wrist, "What the _HELL_ are you doing?"

"Eddy with all due respect, I can go see my father if I_ please_," Edd huffed and glared, his face was hard and serious.

"In case you forget we're HIGH and you can smell the shit on us, _easy_!" Eddy attempted to reason with him the best he could.

"You basically emptied that perfume bottle, Eddy, I'm positive it'll be fine," Edd tugged his arm slightly, attempting to free himself.

"No," Eddy gripped Edd's wrist tighter.

"_I'm going_," Double D grabbed at the handle with his other hand.

"No, _you're not_," Eddy caught the other wrist and pulled him sharply away from the door.

"Eddy, let GO!" Edd yelled, he wasn't very strong but still tried to claw himself free with his stubs of finer nails. Failing miserably, he almost lost his footing.

Stuffing both of Double D's skinny wrists into one of his fist he slapped a free hand on his friend's mouth, "_**SHH!**_" They both stood completely still and looked down at the small crack at the bottom of the door. Edd began struggling in the blanket he wrapped himself in and managed to free a hand from Eddy's grip, he lunged towards the floor. Eddy shifted all his weight backwards and carried his captor with him, falling on the carpet behind them. He took the opportunity to hook his arms underneath Edd's armpits, briefly letting go of Edd's mouth.

"Fath-Mfffgggh!" Eddy's smacked his hand back into place. Each time Edd tried to shout Eddy wrapped his arms tighter around him. He would squeeze the life out of him if it was necessary. Even with the blanket in between them, friction was unavoidable as Edd kicked his legs up and down, using every part of his body to fight back. Eddy was shocked at his willpower, but still had the upper hand in the muscle department. He swung a foot foward and caught his friend's leg, then the other. Sitting straight-legged behind him, Eddy was forcibly holding Double D on his lap while he struggled to gain freedom. Eddy breathed heavily at the physical cost of restraining; the resistance against his thighs was starting to affect him again. Realizing he couldn't move any futher, Edd stopped struggling and relaxed.

**Thunk, thunk….thunk.** The footsteps that were once heard right outside the door began retreating and returning to the stairs. With quick steps down, the sound dissipated. Another _creek_ and a _slam_, then quiet. Headlights retreated outside and traveled down the cul-de-sac road. The sun had fully set and darkness was setting in.

Eddy remained quiet and still for several minutes, at a loss for words. He began to feel wetness slide down his hand.

"Ew Double D, quit drooling on me,"

"Eddy…let me go," Edd sobbed audibly through Eddy's fingertips. Jolting back, his captor released his grip. As soon as he was freed Edd raced to the hallway. He rattled the handle with great urgency and flung it open. The loud **WHAP** sound of the door hitting the wall caused Ed to yawn and turn in his sleep.

"Geez, w-what is it?" Eddy crawled over to the doorway and peaked out. Edd was sitting, slouched over on the floor, tears pooling down his face, holding a note that read:

Eddward,

Forgot briefcase

Clean up mess before Monday

Father


End file.
